


Of Loyalty

by MeChewChew



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Growing Up, M/M, Minor Rufus Shinra/Tseng, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:26:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26708962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeChewChew/pseuds/MeChewChew
Summary: From their first meeting to the bitter end.A tale of Heidegger and President Shinra growing up together, meeting the Madame, and how Rufus echos images of the past.
Relationships: Heidegger/President Shinra, President Shinra/Rufus Shinra's Mother
Comments: 11
Kudos: 17





	Of Loyalty

**Author's Note:**

> Just imagine how good they looked when they were young okay

Heidegger meets him in his third year at the academy, their end of the year ball to be exact. The pretty boy seeks him out an hour or two into the social event, hair slicked back and uniform ironed perfectly with the airs of an elite following him around like a cologne. A pale hand sticks itself between them and Heidegger has the decency to accept it, giving it a shake. Nothing too strong though, can’t have the him running back to mommy and daddy crying after all.

“Is that the best you can do?” The boy smirks, nose stuck up high. “So weak for the next leader of the Student Military Committee.”

Heidegger frowns and shakes his hand so hard even he’s worried it’s going to break. The blonde hisses and pulls his hand back, nursing it with the other one and glaring at him. “Care to use your manners and greet yourself?”

“You came up to me, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?” Heidegger grimaces, already annoyed with him.

“Adrian Shinra.”

Oh. The popular kid. Whatever.

“Heidegger.”

Adrian raises a perfectly groomed eyebrow at him, “no first name? Well, I don’t need it anyways. I can always just look it up.”

“Do you need something?” Heidegger grunts. He’s had enough of the elusive Adrian Shinra and it hasn’t even been two minutes yet.

“I was just going around introducing myself to all the club leaders.”

Heidegger doesn’t even bother responding, waiting for him to continue.

“I _am_ the Student Government President next year,” he smirks, “so it’s only proper that I get to know all the leaders. Especially you. After all, you’ll be leading half the students alongside me.”

_Shiva fucking dammit._

He can’t stand this kid already.

Heidegger lets out a long sigh and downs his wine glass as Adrian waltzes off to find the next poor soul.

It’s going to be a long year.

-

Well.

It’s wasn’t terrible.

Considering he had his tongue down Adrian Shinra’s throat at 2am on a school night.

In the library.

He doesn’t remember who made the first move, but he finds himself hauling Adrian into his lap, textbooks ignored, pens falling to the floor. A hand tugs at his hair and another unbuttons the first strap of his uniform.

It feels like something building inside him has been set free after months of tension between himself and Adrian; club meetings, dinners, study nights. He’s gotten to know how he feels with just a glance, picked up his ticks and vice versa.

He’s even helped Adrian sabotage another group of students who’ve gotten too high on their horse.

There’s a groan from rows behind them, probably a student moaning about an upcoming test. They break apart and Heidegger finds himself entranced by bright blue eyes, almost neutral in expression.

He doesn’t recognize this look.

But there’s something there. Something unfamiliar to him. It’s on the tip of his tongue, but the thought is wiped away when Adrian smirks and gives him a peck on the cheek before sliding off his lap and cleaning up the table.

They don’t talk about it the next day.

Instead, Adrian comes to him with a request. With a grand plan, full of ambition. Adrian doesn’t just want to take over his father’s company, he wants to take over all of Midgar. To own it.

He comes to Heidegger to ask him to stay by his side as he brings his dreams to fruition. It’s the first time he’s seen him so passionate about something. He tells Heidegger all the ways he could use his military prowess and promises him bigger riches and achievements than he has now.

Not that he needs to hear it. He’s seen all the ways in which Adrian leads, how he has the elite children of Midgar eating out of his hand. How he even has him in his hand. Loyal to someone capable of leading them to a new future.

Adrian doesn’t even have time to ask if Heidegger will join him before he pledges his allegiance to his cause.

-

They don’t see each other often after that. They’ve graduated from the academy and are busily building themselves up. Heidegger slowly makes his way up the ranks in the military while Adrian takes over his father’s company, talking his way through the upper crust of Midgar with promises of money and power.

Heidegger visits him when he has days off. He listens to Adrian’s big plans as they lay together at night, fingers lazily running up his chest to map out their future. _His future._

They never talk about what they are.

Heidegger’s too scared to ask.

He knows Adrian’s dreams come first and foremost.

No matter the answer, Heidegger will follow him anyways.

-

Shinra Electric Power Company has successfully lifted off the ground. Construction flows smoothly and the Shinra building is immaculate from where Heidegger looks up at it from the ground.

In only a few years, the upper plates have been finished and all the elites have their desired plot of land to show off their wealth. The bottom of the barrel is already full of leeches, aspiring to become more or simply stuck in their lot of life.

There’s a party tonight to celebrate the completion of Shinra headquarters. Heidegger checks in with the last of his men standing by on security before walking into the building and taking the elevator up to the reception hall.

He walks in with his head held high, newly appointed the head of the military – the might of Shinra.

Adrian is easy to spot in the room, shining bright with a plethora of people surrounding him. It makes him a little nervous, actually, seeing how easy it would be to simply attack him. He finds himself walking over without a hello to anyone who reaches out to him and roots himself behind him. Adrian only greets him with a raised eyebrow before turning to the next elite wanting his attention.

It’s that night that Adrian meets Elisabeth.

Beautiful, blonde and blue eyed just like him, with a witty personality that has Adrian chasing her instead of the opposite. Heidegger watches them flirt for hours, almost like watching a fight for who can one up each other.

Adrian leaves that night with only a silk handkerchief, scribbled with a number that he tucks into his jacket.

Heidegger feels his chest constrict and hopes it’s nothing more than a bit of heartburn.

-

He’s always expected this to happen, but for that first attempt while Adrian’s giving a speech is a different experience.

Heidegger sees the glint of the knife before the others can react, pushing Adrian out of the way and only knows sees red the next moment. He lets out a growl and finds himself on top of the assailant, easily breaking his arm and bashing his head into the floor until blood pools under him. Security comes to cover the both of them and he doesn’t notice his own blood dripping down his face as he grabs Adrian and hauls him off the stage.

His heart’s racing and he’s panting as he sets Adrian down into the car, checking for any injuries. He seems okay besides his shakiness and pale face, brows furrowed together in concern.

There’s a hand on his cheek and Heidegger realizes the pain radiating around his eye.

It scars, later.

Heidegger wears it with pride.

-

Things continue as usual.

Until they don’t.

Adrian comes to him one night, when everyone else has gone home already. Pleading. Asking for help.

He messed up.

He knocked a girl up.

Please help him hide the evidence.

Heidegger doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t ask how it happened. Doesn’t think about how Adrian hasn’t visited his bed in months or how he won’t shut up about Elisabeth.

The next day, the unnamed woman is threatened, tossed into the slums and forgotten.

Adrian doesn’t ask what happened to her, only continuing to throw himself into his work and build up his empire.

Heidegger’s surprised at the first meeting to find an extra Director he didn’t help interview. He introduces himself as the head of the investigation sector of general affairs. It’s quickly made known exactly what kind of investigation his unit takes care of.

He has an argument with Adrian after the meeting, asking why he wasn’t told about the new group. Adrian says that he just needs someone who can deal with the darker side of things and wants Heidegger to focus on military and public security.

Heidegger asks if Adrian doesn’t trust him to do those kinds of things for him.

Adrian gives him a pointed look and they don’t bring up the topic again.

-

Heidegger watches Adrian and Elisabeth fall in love. After another function, Adrian finally gets Elisabeth to visit him alone. He has no choice but to hear about their escapades when they drink together some nights after work.

He’s happy for him.

He really is.

His empire is built. Shinra is thriving. Adrian proposes to Elisabeth in the most ostentatious way possible only a year later and they get married soon after.

It’s the talk of Midgar for months.

Aired on live television, the most luxurious of dresses for Elisabeth, tabloids covering every single detail of the wedding, it was impossible not to know that the most sought out bachelor in Midgar was soon to be off the market.

Heidegger’s the best man, of course. He grits out a genuine smile for the pair and recalls embarrassing stories from Adrian’s school days. Elisabeth is the perfect partner for Adrian. She makes him happy. That’s enough for him.

And just as soon as the excitement from the Shinra wedding dies down, there’s instantly a new talk of the town.

Madame Shinra is pregnant.

They tell him after dinner one night and he feels like the wind’s knocked out of him. He congratulates her, them, of course, but he can’t sleep that night.

He tosses and turns, haunted by memories of years past. It’s been a long time since he’s had a bed partner. He ends up hiring an escort in Wall Market that night to vent his frustrations out on.

It becomes a bad habit of his.

-

Rufus Shinra is born in the very beginning of the new year, bringing a wave of happiness for the future.

The Shinras paint a perfect picture of a loving family. Elisabeth cradles the baby gently in her arms, bright blue eyes and the smallest of hands waving in the air at Adrian, leaning over them and sticking his finger out for him to grab.

They motion him over and Heidegger kneels on one knee in front of them, peering at the infant. It’s so small. Heidegger feels like he would break it.

With their urging, he finally sticks his own finger out for the boy to grab, earning a giggle. He can’t help the upwards curl of his lips at the sight, poking at chubby cheeks until the baby fusses. Adrian and Elisabeth laugh at the pair of them and despite any resentment that Heidegger might feel, he promises to himself that he’ll protect them.

He flushes when Elisabeth jokingly calls him ‘uncle Heidegger’ and he finds himself mulling over the idea later that night.

He visits Rufus a week later with an armful of toys for him to play with despite Adrian’s and Elisabeth’s chagrin and insistence on paying him back. He declines, of course.

Besides, there’s nothing better than the look on their faces when Rufus cries out happily and reaches out for him the next time he comes over.

-

It’s good for a few years.

Heidegger helps with the boy sometimes, carrying him around the army training grounds. The boy is easily excitable and asks a lot of questions which Heidegger is only too eager to answer. He gets a laugh out of the one time Rufus meets the Professor and instantly starts crying. Palmer, on the other hand…he tries to keep the boy away from him, lest he be swayed out of his favor by the promise of bonbons.

Most of all, he’s always had a soft spot for watching Adrian with his son. Whenever he brings Rufus back for the day, those tense and hard lines on his face instantly disappear as the boy runs over to him with an excited shout. Adrian always has a genuine smile when picking him up, eyes crinkling and teeth showing before he gives Rufus a kiss on the cheek.

And then.

It all comes tumbling down.

The day is a blur, a memory he would rather forget.

They’re in a meeting when it happens. Veld gets a call and immediately requests that they adjourn for an emergency. The others all leave the room when Veld says it clear as day, no mincing of words.

The Madame has gotten into a car accident.

They don’t know if she’ll survive.

Adrian pales and in the next moment, Heidegger’s gunning it down the road with him. He’s never seen him so shaken up, eyes wide and fearful, hands clenched into fists in his lap.

They’re not prepared to be brought into a private room as soon as they make it or the words that follows.

Elisabeth Shinra was announced dead upon her arrival at the hospital.

It feels like time’s slowed around them as he processes the news, jaw dropping. Adrian stumbles backwards beside him, curling into himself for a moment and Heidegger instinctually throws a hand out to support him in case he collapses.

There’s yelling and they’re both guided into a quiet room. Adrian rushes forward to take his wife’s hand in his and squeezes, bringing it up to his lips in a soft kiss. He leans down, brushing hair out of her face and cups her cheek before planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Heidegger will never forget the way he calls her name in that room, whispering it over and over until his voice breaks. Nor will he forget the only time he’s ever seen Adrian Shinra cry.

-

The funeral is a spectacle in itself. Aired on live television just like their wedding years ago. But the atmosphere is starkly different. Black instead of white.

The young heir sits somberly between himself and Veld, quietly sniffling and wiping at his eyes with the back of his hands. At some point during the ceremony, Veld starts dabbing at Rufus’ face with a handkerchief. He learned earlier that the turk had taken the boy into his custody the day of the accident and talked him through it.

He hates that there are cameras everywhere, that Adrian has to hold up a front through the entire funeral. It’s not until the burial that they finally cut away, pressured by his security to leave the premises.

They stand back to let them mourn peacefully. Adrian kneels down to take Rufus into his arms, squeezing him tightly as the boy cries into his shoulder. They wait for as long as they need and eventually Adrian stands up, Rufus wrapped around his waist. He’s nearly too big to be carried now, but Adrian insists.

He lets the boy sit in his lap on the way home, fallen asleep against his chest. It takes some hefting to get him out of the car, but Adrian won’t let go of his son.

He leaves the two of them once the front door closes and locks.

The next day, Adrian demands that him and Veld pull Rufus out of school and find a tutor for him at home. He doesn’t want the boy out of the building, security on him at all times.

Heidegger goes with Adrian to commission a personal weapon for himself. Only the best for the ruler of Midgar.

A gold gun. Lavish, shining, deadly.

A symbol of Shinra. Of Adrian.

-

A handful of years later, Adrian calls him into his office with a special request.

“You pledged your loyalty to me all those years ago,” he starts, desk lamp illuminating his face harshly against the darkness of the night.

“Yes, I still remember that day.” Heidegger nods.

Adrian leans forward in his seat, eyes piercing.

“Go to war for me.”

“Show Wutai the might of Shinra. Show the world that they can’t defy us.”

“When would you like to deploy?” Heidegger simply asks. No questions. He knows that Wutai has been a problem recently. He hasn’t had the chance to use his military prowess until this moment anyways.

“As soon as possible. Work with the good Professor and Scarlet to see what their monsters can do.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Also, find a Director for the SOLDIERs. I want you to focus on the rest of the military while someone else wrangles the freaks.”

-  
  


It wasn’t supposed to last this long. It’s been 8 years since the beginning of the war, but the end is nearly in sight.

There’s a mass desertion in SOLDIER and Adrian demands to know what happened. Neither Hojo or Deusericus have an explanation. The Turks are sent to silence Hollander.

Adrian has taken up smoking alongside drinking. His health has clearly had an impact. It’s not until he sees father and son side by side that he really sees how much they’ve both aged.

Rufus has reached his early 20s, taller than his father now and as petulant as ever. Adrian’s son is somehow more ostentatious than him. Heidegger has no idea what kind of youth fashion has influenced him, but Rufus clearly spends money on his wardrobe.

He doesn’t know if it’s because of the SOLDIER desertion or that the end of the war is nearly in sight, but Adrian announces at that very meeting that Rufus is the Vice-President of Shinra.

It leaves a bitter taste in his mouth as he claps along with the rest of the board. He helped Adrian build up the company and he waits 20 some years before announcing his son as the Vice-President.

He feels like he should’ve had the position. _That he should’ve been next in line to be the President should anything happen._

He smirks at Rufus’ face when Adrian sends him away on an extended business trip.

-

Everything only seems to go downhill from there.

Between AVALANCHE, Sephiroth, and Rufus’ betrayal, Adrian’s patience has thinned. Their focus turns to Neo Midgar and the promised land. He wants to build yet another empire, something new, something better than the cesspool that Midgar has become.

With Heidegger and Scarlet, there’s no better arsenal at his hands. No one can defy them.

Hollander is gone.

Deusericus is gone.

Veld is gone.

The Turks are on the run.

Rufus Shinra, heir to the throne, is taken hostage.

And despite all their father and son fighting, Adrian confides in him one night as they pour a drink that he still cares for the boy. That he’s just been lead astray.

Adrian would do anything to have his son safe and home again. He’s the last memory of Elisabeth, after all.

Heidegger listens to it all and despite his ire with the boy, he only wants what’s best for Adrian’s interests. He sees to it that there’s not a scratch on the golden heir by the time they get him back.

-

And just as soon as they get one Shinra back, they lose another one.

Heidegger feels like he’s running in slow motion as he follows the blood trail leading up to the executive office.

_Please._

The doors leading to the office are wide open and he comes to a shuttering stop, like someone’s just taken all the air out of him.

“Adrian!”

What’s only a few steps feels like a mile to him as he rushes over. There’s blood everywhere. It drips onto the carpet, filling the air with the smell of iron, staining everything it touches.

Adrian Shinra lies bent over his desk, blood pooling under him, a sword that could only belong to Sephiroth piercing his chest.

“Adrian?”

The sword disappears, simply there one moment and gone the next. Heidegger doesn’t care.

He catches the body of his old friend before it can hit the ground, breath catching as he stares into lifeless eyes. The hole in his chest oozes out dark blood and Heidegger swallows back the bile coming up his throat, voice catching in his throat.

“Adrian.”

He spots the gold gun on the ground beside them and reaches over to inspect it. Unused. There was no time before Sephiroth struck him down. He carefully pockets it inside his jacket before turning back to his friend.

There was no chance to say goodbye.

No doubt that their plan would fail.

_Not like this._

Heidegger was always meant to go down before Adrian.

To be his last line of defense.

_He’s failed._

He doesn’t recall the next hour after Palmer had coming in squealing at the sight. But Adrian has been taken out of his hands and a clean up crew called up to the office. Heidegger takes a deep breath and dons a clean jacket before he gets an urgent message to meet back at the President’s office.

The rest of the board is already standing in front of the desk by the time he arrives. He looks around and finds Rufus standing in front of the window and walks over to greet him. How did he get here so quickly after the news about his father? He was supposed to be in Junon, from what he remembers.

“Mr. Vice President.”

The boy doesn’t spare him a glance, still as a statue until Tseng walks around from the other side.

“Mr. President.”

“That’s right.”

Heidegger’s blood boils at the smirk Tseng gives him. Just saved from death and the crow is already asking for more.

He goes back around to the front and seethes as the boy takes a look at the throne, just cleaned of his father’s blood, and takes a seat, leaning onto his hand with a smirk on his face.

There’s no remorse in his eyes. No mourning or grief. No acknowledgement of the man who raised him and built up the Shinra empire.

It’s evident the day of the funeral when Rufus doesn’t shed a tear, doesn’t have any signs of distress on his face. In fact, Heidegger sees the slightest smirk after the casket is buried, lips carefully covered by a silk handkerchief to please the media.

Rufus doesn’t know how great his father was, how inspirational and effective of a leader he was during his days, and therein lies the hatred Heidegger harbors for him.

And yet.

Rufus looks so much like his father.

He looks so much like his mother.

Heidegger can’t just destroy Adrian and Elisabeth’s living legacy.

_But Rufus doesn’t deserve Shinra._

_-_

He catches them by accident, by pure chance.

It’s not like he intentionally wanted to see the golden heir and his crow pressed against each other in the middle of the day in the Presidential office. He takes a step back from the door before they can feel his presence and takes off back to his own floor.

Hours later, he passes by Tseng in the hallway, stopping him with a glare.

“He won’t stay with you.” He doesn’t know what prompts him to say it, but he can’t control himself. “He’ll find someone else to be happy with and use you for what you’re worth.”

Tseng’s expression is neutral, only the slightest lift of his eyebrow to feign curiosity.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sir.”

Heidegger grunts and pushes past him. Fine. He’ll watch the two of them go up in flames the second something goes awry.

It occurs to him, for a moment, when he gets back to his office, that perhaps he was giving advice to his younger self. Experience that would have saved him from decades old hurt.

Or perhaps, he needed to voice a doubt that he’s been harboring for years.

_That Adrian had used him._

-

Maybe it’s because he’s never gotten closure that he still feels a sense of loyalty to Adrian. He’ll never know what went down in his head those nights they stayed together, why he had kissed him in the library, the purpose of their relationship.

He’s come to regret never asking him what they meant to each other. What Heidegger meant to him.

He was too fearful of rejection, but now he thinks that it would’ve been better than this never ending loop of wondering.

It only takes two drinks before he starts reminiscing of the good old days, when he and Adrian were barely of age.

_Heidegger meets him in his third year at the academy…_   
  


**Author's Note:**

> are your eyes opened now :)


End file.
